As I prepared to leave Mono Lake once again, the wind died down and left the lake as smooth as a mirror. At first I was troubled by the small ripples that appeared to be disturbing the otherwise perfect surface of the lake, but when I looked around, I realized that my footsteps in the lake were causing the disturbances 100 feet away. I stepped ashore to allow the lake to return once again to perfect stillness as the last light of the day faded gently into darkness.